Lemon Chicken Parmesan

A delicious twist on a  classic Italian dish. What more can I say?

Lemon Blueberry Sticky Buns

Let's start this week with a smile and a delicious sticky roll!

It is Monday and Monday's require an extra dose of motivation to get up and get the week started. My motivation today happens to be Lemon Blueberry Sticky Buns. Let me tell you, these little rolls are absolutely AMAZING.

I am not typically a fan of making any kind of rolls just because I can never get my dough to rise properly (mostly because I am impatient), but this dough was fool proof. It came out perfectly with little work.

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

After a long hot day there is nothing as comforting as sitting down with a tall glass of ice cold lemonade. This is a tradition I remember from my childhood summers spent at my grandparents. Afternoons were always spent on the back porch, sipping lemonade, snacking on a cookie or two, waiting on dinner to cook.

Now as a busy adult living in the 21st century, I rarely get the chance to sit down on the back porch and sip lemonade, but I still have time to grab a quick snack in the afternoons.

Since I cannot always squeeze in time for a relaxing few moments on the porch, I decided to incorporate my childhood memories into this simple to make bar. I also had a few strawberries on hand and decided to add them in too.

Warm Lemon Pudding Cake

Today may not be the first official day of spring, but it was certainly the first day that has felt like spring. And I was lucky enough to have this beautiful day off work. The weather was perfect and I spent the majority of the day outside, on my porch swing reading the second book in the Vampire Academy series. Nothing like an easy read for a lazy day.

While eating lunch, I happened to be looking through the April edition of Cook's Illustrated and came across their recipe for Lemon Pudding Cake. While I'm sure their  recipe was dead on, it also involved a lot of steps, which in turn would result in a lot of dishes having to be washed. So I did what all great cooks do, I improvised and skipped a bunch of steps that didn't seem necessary. My cakes turned out very lemony and perfect pudding-to-cake ratio.

Raspberry Oven Pancake with Lemon Sugar

I am a morning person. I get up at 6am on my days off. People tell me this is not normal. Oh well. I love starting the day off with a good breakfast, especially on days that I have to work.

I need the energy and happy feelings that a home-cooked breakfast bring into my world.

I love sitting down to eat breakfast with a hot cup of tea and a book and forgetting about the fact that I have to leave the comfort of my kitchen in the near future. Unfortunately I'm good at forgetting. I always lose track of time and end up running 5 minutes late. Oh well.

Browned Butter Raspberry-Lemon Bread

Quick breads are a must in a recipe collection. A basic quick bread recipe, much like a pancake recipe, can easily be adapted to include various spices and a wide variety of seasonal fruits.

It's summer, I still have a rather large stock of frozen fruits from last summer, I'm trying my best to use them up before I restock this summer.

Since they were frozen raspberries, they were soft and kind of fell apart when trying to fold them into the bread batter. It wasn't the prettiest of breads but it was delicious!

Browned Butter Raspberry Lemon Bread
2 C All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
6 oz Butter, browned
1 C Sugar
1/4 tsp Lemon Extract
2 Large Eggs
1 C Red Raspberries
1 Tbs Lemon Zest

Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a medium sauce pan, brown the butter. This takes about 4 minutes over medium heat.

In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, browned butter, sugar, lemon extract, and eggs until just combined.

Fold in raspberries and lemon zest gently.  Spread evenly into loaf pan.

(don't you love the adorable measuring cup I picked up at Sur La Table. I'm in love!)

Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool in pan for 10-15 minutes.

Cool completely on a wire rack.

Slice and enjoy! I prefer mine served with cream cheese spread on top! Delicious!

Lemon Glazed Blueberry Biscuits

I am behind on my reading.

I always try to read the book before seeing the movie.

I took my lazy butt to the bookstore the other day. I picked up copies of Beastly, Something Borrowed, and I Am Number Four.

I started with Beastly by Alex Flinn since the DVD becomes available through Netflix on 6/28. I'm too poor to afford real movies, so I'm left with my Netflix account. It works out well though. I don't have to get dressed up. I don't have to worry about my hair or makeup. And I don't have to spend $20 just to get some popcorn and a drink. Yes, I'm cheap.

This morning I woke up craving blueberries. I did not want pancakes. Blueberry pancakes are boring. They've been done before. A million times. Nothing unusual or new about that.

Granted Blueberry Biscuits aren't really unusual either, but they are different. At least different from my normal breakfast.

I didn't borrow or steal this recipe from anywhere. The drop biscuit recipe was my grandmothers. I changed it a little to suit my needs.

Lemon Glazed Blueberry Biscuits
1 C All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Tbs Sugar
2 Tbs Unsalted Butter, slightly softened
1/2 C Milk
1/2 C Blueberries

Preheat oven to 400.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut in the butter until incorporated into the dough.

Stir in the milk in parts, adding more or less as needed to make a stiff dough.

Fold in the blueberries.

Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Lemon Glaze
3/4 C Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 Tbs Lemon Juice

Mix together in a bowl until the consistency of a glaze.

Drizzle over the biscuits while they are still warm.